Brake-shoe adjuster.



PATENTED FEB. 26, 1901'.

J. S. ASHWORTH. BRAKE SHOE ADJUSTER.

uruouxon rum) 21:21. 17,1906.

. INVENTOI? (hm eJ ffiYku/ozZ/z WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

BRAKE-SHOE ADJUSTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 26, 1907.

Application filed September 1'7, 1906. Serial No. 334,864.

To all wit/mt it puny concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES SAVILLE ASH- WORTH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East St. Louis, in the county of St. Clair and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Brake-Shoe Adjuster, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description- This invention relates to brake-shoe regulators, and is designed to take the place of turnbuckles heretofore used in connection with the brake-rods for adjusting the brakeshoes. In the constructions now in use the brake-shoes wear away to such an extent that it is necessary to take up the wear or slack almost daily by means of'turnbuckles, In so doing it frequently becomes necessary to send men on the road to adjust the brakeshoes or to turn the cars into the shops for that purpose, thereby causing great inconvenience and delay and considerable expense.

My invention has for its object, therefore, to provide means adapted to automatically compensate for the wear on the brake-shoe and to keep the shoes normally in the same position relatively to the periphery of the wheel, so that the levers operating the brake-shoe will be kept in a state of constant efficiency and remain in such condition until the brakeshoes wear out. This I accomplish by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the views, and in which-- Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a device embodying my invention and applied to the truck of a car. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of the parts shown 111 Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of a modification of my invention.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawlngs, 1 represents a transverse truck-bolster provided on each end with brackets 2, extending laterally from the bolster. Brakeshoe hangers 3 are pivoted at their upper ends to the brackets 2 by means of pivot-pins 3 and at their lower ends to brake-beams 5, which extend transversely of the truck and are bent at their central portion toward the vertical plane of the truck-bolster. Brakeshoe heads 4 are also pivotally mounted upon the ends of the brake-beams and are provided with brake-shoes 4 secured thereto. Springs 6 are rigidly attached at one end to the truck-bolster, and their lower free ends bear against the central portion of the brakebeams 5 and are adapted thereby to hold the ends of the brake-beams and the brake-shoes inounted thereon normally out of contact with the wheels of the truck. Auxiliary hangers 7 are pivoted at their upper ends to brackets 8, which brackets are attached to the bolster 1 of the car. The lower portions of the hangers 7 are pivotally secured, by means of pivot-pins 7 to the brake-shoe heads 4. Bars 9, provided with ratchetteeth 9, are pivotally secured to the lower end of the hangers 7 by means of pivot-pins 9 and the opposite ends of said bars have a telescopic engagement with casings 10, one end of which is pivotally supported, by means of pivot-pins 14, on operating-levers 14, which are pivoted, by means of pins 14", to the shoe-heads 4. The upper ends of the levers 14 are pivoted to brake-rods 15, which are connected together at their forward ends by means of a cross-bar 16, having an operating-rod 17 secured thereto. Rods 12 are pivoted at one end to the operating-levers 14 and at their opposite ends to levers 1 l mounted upon the casings 10. The levers 11 are provided with slots 11 which slots engage pins 10, secured to the casings 10, and the lower ends of said levers are provided with teeth adapted to engage the teeth 9 of the ratchet-bars 9. Dogs 13 are also mounted upon the casings 10 by means of pins 10*, so that their outer ends will engage the ratchetteeth of the bars 9.

Power is applied to set the brakes through the rod 17, thereby drawing the upper ends ofthe operating-levers 14 away from the bolster 1 The lower ends of the levers 14 being pivoted to the casings 10, such outward movement of the upper end of the levers 14 carries the brake-beams connected therewith outward, so as to bring the brake-shoes mounted on said beams to bear against the periphery of the truck-wheels adjacent thereto. Such outward movement of the upper ends of the levers 14, operating on their pivotal connections 14 with the casings 10, also operates the connecting-rods 12 and rocks the levers 11, which are mounted upon the pivots 10, thereby bringing the toothed ends of said levers in engagement with the teeth of the bars 9 and pressing said bars 9 outward, so as to carry outward the lower ends of the auxiliary hangers 7, the brake-shoes connected therewith, and the brake-beams, upon which the brake-shoes are mounted, and bringing said brake-shoes in contact with the periphery of the wheels of the tr ucli adjacent thereto.

When the power is released from the rod 17, and consequently from the upper ends ol the lovers let, the springs (5 force the central portion of the brake-beams 5 inward to *ard each other, thereby carrying the brake-shoes mounted thereon away from the periphery of i the wheels and into the position indicated in Fig. 1. Such inward movement of the brainbeams moves the upper ends oi. the operating-levers 1a inward. toward. the bolster 1, and the rods '12, connected with said levers, move the upper ends of the levers 11, and the slots 11. in said levers permit the levers 11 to rise bodily, so that the teeth formed on said levers will release themselves from engagement with the teeth of the bars 3. As the surfaces of the brake-she wear away the connection between the b12LlGSlL( )GS, consisting of the bars 9 and the casings ll), elongated automatically, and thereby conmensates for said wear and holds the surfaces of two oppositcly-disposed shoes at a constant distance from each other and hem the truckwheels adjacent thereto. This is accomplished by the dogs 13, which engage the ratchet-teeth 9" of the bars 9 and take up the wear on the ace of the shoes, thereby in creasing the length ol the connection formed by the ratchet-bars 9 and casings l0 and holding the brake-shoes in a constant position relative to the periphery of the wheel, whereby they may be evenly applied to the wheels by the levers operating the brakes.

l/Vhile l: have shown and described suitable means or lengthening automatically the connection between oppositely d isposcd brake-shoes, I do not desire to be limited to such construction, as my invention is generic in its nature and includes within. its scope any suitable connection between the ln'ake-shoes adapted to automatically compensate for the wear on the 'face or the brake-shocs and keep the shoes normally at a constant distance from the periphery of the wheels. This device, moreover, is adapted to be attached to and operated in connection with either hand or air brakes and used on any vehicle using a brake, although the device is especially adapted for electric street-cars and passenger and freight cars on steam-railroads. The brake-shoes may be applied to the outer sides of the wheels of the truck, il desired, as shown in Fig. 3, instead of arranging the shoes between the wheels of the truck, as shown in Fig. 1. When such consrucl ion is used, the

casing 10 may be supported upon the bolster ol' the car-truck in the mannershown 1n 1 1g. 1 or any other suitable manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1. The combination with. a car-truck, ol' lnalce-beams mounted upon pivoted levers secured to said truck, brake-shoes pivoted to said beams, an adjustable telescopic connection adapted to hold saidv brake-shoes normally at a constant distance from the wheels of said truck, and springs secured to said truck adapted to bear against said lu'al\'e beams, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination with a -arlrucl ol' oppositely-disposed brake-shoes pivot-ally mounted upon brake-beams, springs secured to said truck and adapted to bear against said ln'ahe-bea1ns, levers connected with said brake-shoes, a ratchet-bar pivotally attached to the lower end of one of said levers, a aising pivotally attached to the lower end ol the opposite lev .r, a toothed lever adapted to engage the teeth of said ratchct-bar, and a dog pivoted to said casing adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet-liar, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combil'iation with a car-truck, ol' levers pivotallyconnected therewith, a bra hebeam pivoted to said levers, brahe-slwies mounted on said beam, springs attached to the truck adapted to bear against said brake-beams, a li'mgitudinally-movable bar provided with. ratchet-teeth, a casing adapt ed to engage and support one end of said bar, a dog pivoted to said casing and adapted to engage the teeth of said bar, and a toothed lever adapted to engage and move said bar longitudinally, substantially as shown and described.

4-. The combination with a car-truch, oi levers pivoted thereto, brake-beams pivoted to the lower end of said levers, brake-shoes mounted 011 said lJOLtTllS, an auxiliary lever pivoted to said truck, a ratcltet-lmr pivoted to said lever, (merating-levers pivotally connected with said shoes, a casing pivoted to the lower end of said operating-levers, and adapted to receive said ratchet-lair, a toothed lever provided with a slot pivoted to said casing, a rod connecting said toothed lever to the operating-lever, and a dog pivoted to said casing, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence ol' two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES SAVILLE ASHXVO ltll'l.

Witnesses EDW'ARD Jiis. McDADn, Louis E. LEBENAR. 

